SWINNEY confirmed an additional £12 million has been found to take the fund up to the £50 million needed to offset the UK Government welfare reform policy.

EXTRA cash will be spent to fully mitigate the impact of the so-called bedroom tax in Scotland, Finance Secretary John Swinney has pledged.

He confirmed an additional £12 million has been found to take the fund up to the £50 million needed to offset the UK Government welfare reform policy.

Mr Swinney announced his decision as MSPs prepared to vote on the SNP's spending plans for the year ahead.

"I want to be clear to the chamber that none of the funding I have announced here is a solution to the bedroom tax," he said.

"This is about mitigation - about picking up the pieces from Westminster's iniquitous policy.

"The only real solution is to scrap the bedroom tax altogether, and this Government believes the only way to do that is for this Parliament to have the full powers over welfare in Scotland."

The SNP and Labour set aside wider political differences to find a solution to the problem during negotiations on the Budget Bill.

Mr Swinney said UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) rules mean the Scottish Government is constrained in what it can legally spend.

The DWP set a cap at £22.85 million for discretionary housing payments, which can be used to support tenants at risk of falling behind in rent and getting into debt.

The SNP administration said the total support that can be provided directly by councils to individuals is £38 million, still short of the £50 million required.

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has written to the department asking for the cap to be removed, he said.

Mr Swinney said: "I give Parliament the assurance today that if the DWP says no, the Scottish Government will put in place a scheme to make this additional £12 million available to social landlords so that we need not see any evictions in Scotland this year as a result solely of the bedroom tax."

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